HISTORIC VIRGINIA THEATRE CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH “ICE CREAM & INDEPENDENCE”: A SALUTE TO OUR VETERANS

Special tribute concert is free to all veterans and active duty military personnel

Champaign, IL – The Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign will host a special Independence Day celebration of the very best in American music on Saturday, July 2, 2016, at 7:00 P.M. (doors open at 6:00 P.M.). Reserved seating tickets start at $12.50 and are available at the Virginia Theatre Box Office, online at thevirginia.org, or charge by phone at 217.356.9063. Admittance is free to all veterans and active duty military service personnel—however, everyone must have a ticket to attend. An “ice cream social” will take place in front of the theatre from 5:00-6:30 P.M., with TCBY Champaign on hand to provide frozen yogurt sundaes, free of charge, to all ticket holders.

The concert showcases the 60+ member Champaign-Urbana Civic Wind Band, conducted by Linda R. Moorhouse, DMA, Senior Associate Director of Bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Special guest artists—and renowned father-son trumpet duo—Ronald and Aaron Romm will be featured. Local radio personality Jim Turpin will again act as Master of Ceremonies and narrator for the event, which is being simulcast on WDWS NewsTalk 1400 AM. It’s an evening of frosty treats, patriotic music, and heartfelt tribute to those who have served and are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. Presented by the Champaign Park District and the University of Illinois Bands Program. Additional support by WDWS NewsTalk 1400 AM, The News-Gazette, Illinois Public Media, and TCBY. For more, visit www.thevirginia.org.

Ticket Pricing:
$19.50/$15.50/12.50 Standard
$17.50/$14.00/$11.00 Senior (55 and up)
$8.00 (all seats) Children (12 and under)
FREE for all Veterans and Active Duty Military Service PersonnelFace Mask Required Signs for Businesses, Restaurants and Offices

Champaign Central's Acting Class Presents Little Shop of Horrors the Musical!
May 18-20 at 7:00 pm and the 22nd at 2:30pm, with an invited dress rehearsal on the 17th. Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for adults.
(There is no show on Saturday, May 21st)

Seymour Krelbourn lives life as a poor, previously orphaned young-adult working in a florist shop to raise his strange plants and make ends meet. Mushnik’s Skid Row Florists, owned by Mr. Mushnik, has not been doing well, and Mr. Mushnik is ready to close up shop. In an act of desperation and dedication, Seymour, encouraged by Audrey, shows Mushnik one of his strange and interesting plants. Seymour has always had a crush on Audrey, however she leans toward not-so-nice men and her relationship has turned abusive. But, since Audrey is still working with him at the shop, he does not want the shop to close. Once Seymour places the plant in the window, business starts to pour in, but the plant won’t grow. Seymour discovers that the only thing that the plant will eat is blood… fresh blood.. And as he begins to run out of blood from his fingers, Seymour must decide whether to continue feeding the plant by taking lives, or to let it die and lose the love of his life, Audrey...

Cast List:
Seymour: Quinton Ohlsson
Audrey: Shireen Hassan
Mushnik: Josh Harris (Tues/Thurs/Sun) Mitchell Flanagin (Wed/Fri)
Orin: Will Kanter (Tues/Thurs/Sun) Nick Henson (Wed, Fri)
Ronnette: Zoë Dunn
Crystal: Lauran Miller
Chiffon: Symone Howell
Bebop Understudy: Diana Golmeeva
Audrey II (The Plant): LaDonna Wilson
Audrey II Puppeteer: Rajheem Haymon
Customer: Jack Wierschem
Arthur Denton: Seth Lerner
Ensemble: Seth Lerner, Joe Stevens, Arnold Brown, Ben Wendt, Jack Wierschem, Rajheem Haymon, Offnight Mushink, Offnight OrinPatike

Come out to learn swing dancing and enjoy a live band at the Illini Swing Society’s free Saturday Spring Dance! Join us first for the free beginning swing lesson and then get ready to swing out to the Magnolia Jass Band from Chicago! The drop-in lesson is from 7-8pm and the dance follows from 8-11pm. Both lesson and dance are free! No partner, experience or special shoes are needed. Just be ready to learn a few fun steps and meet some new people!

This free live event will be held at the Wesley Foundation, 1203 W. Green St. Urbana (enter from the Parking Lot on Goodwin). Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or at www.illiniswing.org.Nike

The U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus will perform a free concert at the historic Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, at 7:00 P.M. The originally scheduled show time of 3:00 P.M. was changed to 7:00 P.M. to better allow performers to attend church services that day. Free reserved seating tickets for the concert are available at the Virginia Theatre box office, www.thevirginia.org, or by phone at 217-356-9063. Presented by the Champaign Park District.

The U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus is the oldest and largest of The U.S. Army Field Band’s performing components. Founded in 1946 and 1957 respectively, these two ensembles combine to present joint concerts on their national tours. They have performed in all 50 states and 30 foreign countries for audiences totaling hundreds of millions.

The 65-member Concert Band and 29-member Soldiers’ Chorus perform regularly in some of the most famous concert halls in the world, and just as often in the humblest auditoriums in the smallest of communities. The joining of these two ensembles allows them to offer unparalleled versatility of programming, ranging from orchestral masterworks and operatic arias to Sousa marches, jazz classics, and Broadway musicals.nike